Experimental investigation on the effects of bed slope and tailwater on dam-break flows

Abstract

Understanding of the characteristics of dam-break flows moving along a sloping wet bed can help to timely issue flood warning and risk mitigation. In this study, laboratory experiments are carried out in a large flume for a wide range of upstream water depth, bed slopes and tailwater depth. The water level is recorded and processed to calculate the mean velocity and wave celerity. Results show that the increase of the bed slope will significantly accelerate the wave-front celerity for the downstream dry bed, while the negative wave celerity will decrease. When water depth ratio α ≥ 0.3 (defined as the ratio of initial downstream water depth over the upstream water depth of dam), there are extra negative waves propagating towards the reservoir area after the flow has developed for a period of time. When α ≥ 0.6, there are the Favre waves propagating downstream. The water level and the mean velocity fluctuate due to the influence of the extra negative waves and the Favre waves. Such fluctuant frequency increases with the increase of the water depth ratio. The empirical formulas are obtained for the celerity of the first extra negative wave and the first downstream wave. The variation of wave-front height is very similar under three bed slopes investigated in this study, while the maximum wave-front height occurs when α = 0.2. The present study broadens the understanding of the effects of the bed slope and the tailwater level on the movement of the dam-break flows. Furthermore, experimental results are also compared with some analytical solutions. The validity of the assumptions made during the development of these analytical solutions and their limitations are discussed by comparing with the experimental measurements.